Fontwell is a course fit for royalty

Fontwell Park hit the headlines in 1949 when it was the scene of the first runner owned by the then Princess Elizabeth and her mother, then the Queen, who we remember as the Queen Mother.

They’d been persuaded to buy a jumper called Monaveen by amateur rider Lord Mildmay. The subject of much media interest, Monaveen won a three-horse race – so Fontwell was the place that ignited the Queen and the Queen Mother’s interest in racing.

The horse National Spirit was a frequent visitor to Fontwell. In the late 1940s he won two Champion Hurdles and a host of other races after the war and he was the bestknown horse in the country.

He won five times at Fontwell, and 32 races in all. It’s fitting that nowadays the National Spirit Hurdle is Fontwell’s premier race.

The number of fixtures increased over the years and this, combined with the unusual layout of the steeplechase track, led to the emergence of course specialists who loved its twists and turns.

Foremost among these were Certain Justice, who won14 races in the mid-60s, and St Athans Lad, who won 11 in 1992 and 1993.

Six Grand National winners, four Gold Cup winners and four Champion Hurdlers have won there.

In the 1970s the National Spirit Hurdle regularly drew top-class horses, including the dual champion Comedy Of Errors, who twice won the Fontwell feature.

In the current century it’s been won by top French stayer Baracouda and Cheltenham Festival winners such as My Way De Solzen and Celestial Halo.

One of the most popular horses in recent times, Cue Card, won his first race at Fontwell and seven-times champion jockey John Francome beat Stan Mellor’s record of National Hunt wins there in 1984.

There’s been great loyalty among the workforce. Derek Hubbard was clerk of the course for 36 years. Some groundstaff who started in the 1920s were still there 40 years later. Current head groundsman Paul Mant took over from father Roger, who s tarted there in 1959. Th e new member s’ Stand opene d in 2 010.

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